Ordinary Jubilee of 2025
The Holy Father has decided that 2025 will be a year of Jubilee, something which happens every 25 years. The theme is “Pilgrims of Hope”, and is a year of hope for a world suffering the impacts of war, the ongoing effects of COVID-19 pandemic, and a climate crisis.
DECREE ON THE GRANTING OF THE INDULGENCE
Pope Francis in his Papal Bull ‘Spes Non Confundit’ (Hope is not disappointed) has called all Christians to become pilgrims of hope. The Holy Father has declared that the gift of the Indulgence ‘is a way of discovering the unlimited nature of God’s mercy. Pope Francis wishing to encourage the souls of the faithful and nourish the pious desire to obtain the Indulgence seen as a gift specific to each Holy Year, establishes the following indications, so that the faithful may take advantage of the ‘norms’ for obtaining and rendering spiritually fruitful the practice of the Jubilee indulgence.
The Jubilee Indulgence is a gift of grace granted by the Church. It involves the remission of all temporal punishment due to sin for those who are truly repentant and free from attachment to sin, purified through the Sacrament of Penance, nourished by Holy Communion and have prayed for the Pope’s intention.
The Holy Father in his ‘Decree on the Granting of the Indulgence’ has stated that the faithful, pilgrim of hope, will be able to obtain the Jubilee indulgence granted by the Holy Father if they undertake a pious pilgrimage. The pilgrimage can be any sacred Jubilee site in Rome, in the Holy Land, or a Cathedral or other church or sacred place designated by the local Ordinary. Bishop Alan Williams, Bishop of Brentwood, has designed the National Shrine of Our Lady of Light in Clacton on Sea as a sacred place for pilgrimage in the Jubilee Year 2025. To qualify for the Indulgence by visiting the National Shrine of Our Lady of Light, you need to do one of the following:
- Participate in the Holy Mass or other liturgical celebrations (e.g the Liturgy of the Hours, the Rosary, or the Way of the Cross).
- Spend time in Eucharistic adoration and private prayer including The Our Father, The Profession of Faith (Apostles’ Creed or Nicene Creed), Prayers to the Blessed Virgin Mary (e g Hail Mary).
In addition you must complete the following within 20 days of the visit:
- Go to Confession to be purified of your sins.
- Received Holy Communion with reverence.
- Pray for the intentions of the Holy Father (these prayers may include one Our Father, on Hail Mary, and a Glory Be, but any prayer for the Pope’s intentions suffices).
The indulgence can also be applied to yourself or to the souls in Purgatory.